27th
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I’m Just a Lonely Guy: Little Richard (1955)
What an oversight - over 170+ posts and not one Little Richard song! It seems impossible to me, but then if I think I think about it, it all makes sense.
I listen to a fair amount of Little Richard, but not the hits. I’m a fan of the Little Richard that rock and roll left behind, circa 1965-1972, when his hair got huge and his ego even bigger. There are no hit recordings from this era. Here, Little Richard is a cartoon character, a flamboyant prima donna who talks smack about his peers and maniacally rants over generic rockers and re-recordings of his hits. He’s out of his mind, for sure, and that’s why I love him. If I ever considered posting a Little Richard song before, it was most certainly one these later, less popular, unhinged recordings. But how to decide on just one song? It’s like selecting a picture of a lover who just doesn’t photograph well.
Well, this settles it once and for all. “I’m Just a Lonely Guy” is not from the loose cannon years, but primo, top-shelf, A-list Little Richard – recorded in the same session as “Tutti Frutti” in 1955. It sounds like it was recorded with one mike – his vocal mike. And it’s part of what makes this recording so magical. This is, I’m convinced, his greatest vocal performance ever captured on tape. With the vocal being so disproportionately loud, his screams feel like they’re coming from within your head. And they are the most raw, heartfelt, and strikingly original rock and roll screams you will ever hear. The band, being so distant, sounds as if they are haunting Little Richard, a kind of supernatural sadness. It is everything I love about old recordings – the character, the fuzz, the warmth. I can almost feel the heat of the overworked tubes on my face. Put this one on my short list. A hair-raisingly amazing performance and recording.
So there you go, Penninman. A proper tribute. You may be bat shit crazy, but you are, indeed, the king of rock and roll.
